Benefits on the Fringe: 8 Companies With Above-and-Beyond Job Perks

Welcome to Benefits on the Fringe, the monthly Recruiter.com column where Jason McDowell covers the most unique benefits today’s employers are using to woo talent, as well as advances and innovations in the employee benefits realm.

Most of us are pretty happy with good healthcare, fair retirement packages, and a few weeks of vacation annually. But hey – who hasn’t wished for a nap pod in the middle of a particularly hectic day, or wanted to bring their dog to work so they could save a little money on that dog walker?

At some companies, such things are more than wishes – they’re bona fide benefits. If your company’s perks stop at the coffee pot, maybe you should keep an eye on job openings at the following businesses:

1. Deloitte

This global professional services firm offers a number of unique benefits, including up to $25,000 in reimbursement for fees incurred while adopting a child. Deloitte also allows retirement at age 50 to employees with at least 10 years of service to the company, or at 55 with 5 years of service. Deloitte also offers 30 days annually of child or adult/elder care for when an employee’s regular arrangements fall through.

2. Starbucks

I’ll avoid the obvious “perk” puns here. You may already be aware that Starbucks offers health insurance to even part-time baristas, but you may not know that Starbucks partnered with Arizona State University to offer two free years of online college education to its workers. Employees who use the program have no obligation to Starbucks after graduation. Also, employees in the corporate office get a free box of K-Cups or a pound of Starbuck coffee every week.

3. Facebook

Aside from a generous benefits package, this social media giant offers employees all kinds of perks that aren’t exactly industry standards. Need a haircut? Visit the Facebook barber. Hungry? Free meals are available all day long. Busted the chain on your bike? Good thing there’s a bike repair shop on site. In fact, it seems Facebook employees can run most of their errands – from dry cleaning to banking – without leaving the campus.

4. Airbnb

It’s been made public that Airbnb hooks employees up with $2,000 every year to travel, but it’s less commonly known that the company also provide 22 weeks of paid leave to new mothers and 10 weeks to any parent. Plus, the company feeds workers three meals a day for free.

5. EY

Financial services firm EY offers $25,000 in lifetime adoption or advanced reproductive technologies assistance to all employees. EY workers also have access to free college coaches for themselves and their families who help select schools, fill out applications, and explore payment options.

6. Twitter

Not to be outdone by other tech giants, this social media site also makes sure employees are well fed with three catered meals each day. Twitter also offers laundry and dry cleaning services right in the office, plus a lounge that serves wine, beer, and kombucha.

7. Netflix

Anyone who follows this column – or HR/recruitment news more generally – knows that Netflix offered the original unlimited vacation package, but that isn’t the only cool benefit going on at what is arguably the internet’s most popular video streaming service. The company doesn’t track its employees daily work hours and allows up to a year of paid parental leave for new moms and dads. Smaller perks include free shuttle service to San Francisco and surrounding areas, plus Zipcars for employee use to and from work.

8. Google

It might be easier to ask what Google doesn’t offer than to catalogue what it does. Some facilities allow employees to bring pets to work. Many locations take healthcare benefits to the extreme with onsite physicians, physical therapists, and masseuses. Employee vacations and flexible workdays are highly encouraged. The tech giant also offers access to financial advisors to help “Googleys” plan for retirement. In addition to all of this, the company pays 50 percent of an employee’s salary to their spouse in the event of an employee death.

Jason McDowell holds a BS in English from the University of Wisconsin-Superior and an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. By day, he works as a mild-mannered freelance writer and business journalist. By night, he spends time with his wife and dogs, writes novels and short stories, and tries in vain to catch up on all of those superhero television shows.